Bank of Ireland is warning businesses about a recent increase in “live chat” scams where fraudsters try to dupe business customers into allowing remote access to their computers and bank accounts.
The bank said that fraudsters are calling customers pretending to be from Bank of Ireland, claiming that their account has been compromised.
Customers are then directed to a live chat service or to download software to their computer, where they are asked for card details, online banking details and activation codes.
This allows the fraudster remote access to the customer’s computer when they can see their screen and access all of the customer’s files and programmes.
The fraudster will set up payments on the customer’s online banking and ask the customer to read out the one-time codes from their Bank of Ireland app to approve the payments.
Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland, said the the bank wants to warn businesses in particular to be extremely alert to this new scam.
“Fraudsters try to convince people to allow access to their PCs via a fake live chat, where they can then access business customers’ online banking, and other personal files and information,” she said.
“Never allow a caller to take remote access of your PC. If someone asks you for a one-time code from your online banking app, they are a fraudster. Never share those codes with anyone, even if they say they are from your bank. If you get a call like this, just hang up,” she advises.